Circle of Orbit
by Jessenia
Summary: Yaoi. 2+1/ Ratings to rise. Duo and Heero have gone their separate ways after the war, but neither one can completeely forget the past.
1. Prologue

==========================

THE CIRCLE OF ORBIT:

Jessenia  
==========================  


There are moments that last a lifetime. Watching the sun rise and set, knowing that you'll live to see the freedom that you've always fought for ... all these things I have learned to cement in my memory so that when I am alone or self-doubting, I know that my life has had moments when time has stopped. 

But I was taught to remember the failures. To avoid all faults and achieve an impossible perfection. Only now have I finally realized that these goals were not perfect at all. My moments, the ones that I think about all the time, are the most painful ones. 

A smile, a wave. 

A last good-bye. 

The knowledge that something precious is lost. 

You taught me to live. You taught me what I really needed to know. All the little things that have been the determining factors in how I survive. It is because of you that I have not gone into seclusion and shut out the light. But it is because of you that I cannot stop the painful memories from tormenting me when I least suspect them.

Because you left. 

You left for her. Damn you.

You taught me to love only to break my heart.

Don't you know that this is love you are cheating?

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tbc

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standard disclaimers apply


	2. Chapter One

=======================

CIRCLE OF ORBIT

~Jessenia~

Chapter One:  
=======================  


Duo smiled as he walked into the theatre. The smile was calm and civil, not the usual full-hearted psychotic grins which he would flash confidently at Heero. 

Not anymore. 

His eyes were carefully happy, and that was all that they conveyed. He preferred not to think about Heero, which usually meant avoiding all topics about Gundam, war and life in general. Conversation for Duo had been limited to his relationship with Hilde, and the weather, though even the weather reminded him of the times when he had prattled on incessantly in a one-sided conversation because Heero refused to talk.

Well, all Duo could do was sit and wonder what life might have been like if he had made that choice. If that choice had even been his to make. Truth to tell, he hated every minute that he wasted with Hilde, every minute that he could have been spending with Heero. Only he understood that he had to take the opportunities that were presented him. Heero was not one of those opportunities. 

The smile turns wistful for a moment as a wave of memories hit him. He clutched the popcorn bag to his chest in an attempt to ward off the thoughts. There was a sort of feeling that he had around her, a sense that she knew that she did not have his heart. Something in the way that she smiled at him, or laughed, or kissed him implied finality, as if she was prepared for their parting. And he felt certain that he could have liked her if they had met before Heero. 

But they hadn't. 

He felt like a drowning boy being suffocated in a mass of.... 

..... of what? Hilde loved him, which was something that could not be said about Heero. Who knew what that boy was thinking? Certainly Duo did not, though there were times when he thought he did. There was nothing more he wanted, except to have the power to lean over and kiss Heero, or console the lost child that he knew was in there, hiding behind those cobalt eyes.

But Heero wasn't his to take care of, or love. And it wasn't as if Hilde was irritating, only...well, Hilde wasn't anything. However hard he tried, he never felt anything towards her. She was neither repulsive nor seductive. He didn't love her but he didn't hate her. He felt completely neutral towards her, and that hurt most of all. 

Hilde was nothing because she wasn't Heero. 

It figured. Heero could go off with Relena and be happy and not spare Duo a second thought, but could he go off with someone who loved him and enjoy himself? 

No. 

His mind was constantly revolving around a world that wasn't his to revolve around. He was a sun, misplaced in a strange universe.

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The sun was sinking heavily beneath the city lights as Heero walked back to his apartment. He was lonely and heartbroken but he'd be damned if he went after Duo and spilled his guts. For all he knew, Duo was more than happy to be rid of him and enjoying a life with Hilde. Scowling, he cut off that thought and focussed on the road ahead.

How many times since the end of the war had he wondered where Duo had gone, only to convince himself that it didn't make a difference to him. How many times had he tried to understand what had driven him away from Relena and sent him here, to the job that he currently held, and the life which he currently led? He was almost certain that he didn't want Duo the way he had back then. That he had matured enough to realize that he was using Duo as an excuse to stay away from Relena. 

And yet, deep down, there was a part of him that was never convinced by what he told himself. The part of him that had broken down the walls built around his emotions and followed Duo's directions precisely. The part that had enabled him to smile and laugh and talk, just like Duo had said would be necessary at the end of their battle....

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"Baka. Duo I'm serious. There is something wrong and there has been something wrong since we started out together as...well a couple." Hilde frowned at her lover and smacked Duo lightly on the arm. "I'm serious. You've been avoiding me long enough." Duo smiled, the kind of smile which could be interpreted in any way, then bent a bit in order to gain access to her mouth, kissing cautiously. An eery silence set a firm hand on the room. 

The silence stayed for some time...  
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TBC  


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Jessenia: C&C please!!

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standard disclaimers apply


	3. Chapter Two

CIRCLE OF ORBIT

~Jessenia~

  
  


Chapter two  
  


"This is it." Heero stated, somewhat proudly, throwing open the door to his apartment and allowing the child access to it. She let out a low whistle and turned to look at the young man who had...well she wasn't quite certain of what this all meant, but she knew that now, she belonged somewhere.

Miyu, as he was told some-odd weeks ago was the name she went by, turned a circle, smiling slightly. Heero grinned a little in response. It had been over three weeks since he had first heard about the girl from Relena. How Miyu had managed to catch the attention of the Queen of the World still perplexed him, but she had, and only a few days later, Relena was on the phone with an idea. He understood her better than he had ever thought. She was worrying, and had been since the end of the war, possibly long before that. And just because he had turned-down her company did not mean that he had to be alone all the time. So, when she had found the young girl, she had pulled all the strings that were in her power to pull, and that was a lot of strings.

Heero smiled to himself. When he had left, Relena had been surprisingly understanding, and accepted his decision on the one condition that they operate as friends. He had accepted, somewhat grateful to have an ally within easy reach. The other gundam pilots had all moved to different colonies, Relena was the only one who stayed on earth, excluding himself. So, for his own benefit and that of the young child's, Relena had sent her on the earliest flight, and here she was. Moving in. It was a trial, of course. If she wasn't happy, Heero was ready to make the necessary arrangements for her to go where she wished. 

"Hungry yet? Or would you like to sleep." He stopped and frowned at her clothes. "We should do something about those clothes in the nearest of futures though." The girl twisted her face a bit, then nodded. She was quiet and stubborn and not too perfectly educated. But there was a certain understanding between them.

"Clothes, food, television." Heero chuckled and showed Miyu the bathroom. "What's this for?" She asked when Heero placed towels in her arms and began to usher her towards the tub.

"We call it...."

"I know what it's called!!" Miyu stated, frowning and wrinkling her nose as if she wasn't really sure of what she knew, except that she didn't like it. Then she gave Heero an untrusting glare. "I wanna know why I gotta go in it." Heero turned on the shower head and set out the shampoo. It had been raining, and she hadn't been fond of the oversized raincoat he had offered her for the walk home from the airport.

"Because you are dirty. If you are going to go out in public, I think you would find that you get a better reception if you are clean." The girl thought this over, looked at Heero skeptically, then, as if seeing the logic in all of this, she agreed. Heero left.

*

"DUO!!!" Hilde screeched as she was toppled and pushed into the water, as her lover knocked them both in. The couple came up spluttering and batting water at each other. "BAKA!!!" She shrieked again, throwing her weight and pushing down on the giggling boy beside her. Needless to say, he went under.

"HA!!! She wailed triumphantly as Duo came up, warding off her flailing arms. They stopped playing, looking at each other and Hilde nodded. "Duo, I was thinking... while we're here on Earth and all, we might pay a visit to Relena-san. You know, see how things are going." She watched as her lover went serious. "We don't have to." She hastened to add.

"No. No, it would be fun!!" She smiled but her heart wasn't in it. She knew Duo really wasn't in love with her. She knew she was being petty, but she loved him and she didn't want to lose him to anything. But sometimes, it was best to let them go...

"We're a lot alike, ne?" Hilde said, coming out of her thoughts and flicking water in Duo's's direction. When he raised his eyebrow she expanded. "I mean, we are exactly the same." Duo swam a circle around her and then faced her.

"Exactly?" He asked, with an impish grin.

"Well, I can think of a few differences..." Whatever she would have said was lost as Duo knocked her playfully under the water and began to analyze every way that they were different.

*

"Can I stay here?" Heero looked up from his pizza and raised an eyebrow.

"You are staying here."

"No. I know I am, but I mean...permanently. I like it here." She added, as if ashamed of admitting such a thing. 

"You'll have to help-out at the store. You can earn an allowance which you can spend however you want." He watched Miyu's eyes light up, dark green depths turning the color of Christmas lights. 

"My OWN money? You kiddin' or sumthin?" Heero frowned,

"We'll also put you in school. You could use some education."

"I know lots'a things." But she had already decided that she liked him and would listen to him.

Heero had no one to admit it to, because he couldn't let Relena get too cocky, but he was happy to have company it was nice to not be alone anymore.

*

TBC  
  


standard disclaimers apply.


	4. Chapter Three

CIRCLE OF ORBITS

~Jessenia~

  
  


Chapter Three  
  


"Ahh, hello Hilde. Hello Duo. How have you been? I've heard that you two formed a pair!!" Relena winked at Hilde and nudged Duo with her elbow. "Tie the knot yet? Do I hear wedding bells?" Hilde blushed and Duo swatted at the elbow of the Queen of the World with agitation.

"..." Duo had to stop himself from his instinctive reaction, "No. I think we are still too young." Relena looked curiously at Hilde as if asking a quiet question. Hilde jerked her head in a short nod and Relena looked sad for a moment.

"Well, I should get you to your room. I'm sure you both are very tired." Duo smiled when he noticed that there would only be one room for the both of them. But where on earth had Heero gotten too?

*

He sat, sprawled on the over-stuffed chair, reading a book that he had swiped from his store. Miyu was asleep on the couch. They had gone to the mall and not only purchased clothing, but Miyu had also styled her hair, preferring a straight cut, long black tresses perfectly even, and black bangs cut in a line, three small braids tied with colored beads to allow her a childish look. 

Heero had been able to pull a few strings and get her a place in a school that was known for its good students. Money-wise, Heero's job supported them, and monthly, Relena would send him a great deal of money. At first he had tried sending it back, but Relena had found ways to make sure it stayed with him, or kept coming back to him, so he resigned himself to take it. It was a great deal of help, and along with that, the people in the small town he lived in all knew that he was a gundam pilot, and since the area was so small, he had influence, even though he kept to himself and was still young.

It wasn't hard to see that Miyu was getting attached to Heero. And, though it was slightly difficult, if one knew where to look, it could also be told that Heero was too.

*

Dinner was not the formal affair that Duo had mentally prepared himself for. It was just Hilde, Relena and himself, and the numerous waiters, but Relena did her best to maintain the conversation. It was nearing eleven o'clock when Duo began to actually listen to the part inside him that was continuously nagging him about the location of Heero Yuy. 

It had appeared that Hilde was thinking the same thing. "Relena-san, forgive me if I seem a little rude but... I thought that Heero was staying here with you." Relena's expression melted into a soft, forlorn little smile and she averted her eyes to stare at a corner of the room where a large rosewood cabinet housed a picture of Heero Yuy during a quiet moment, when he had been unaware of the photographer. Duo had spotted it when he had first come in.

"...Iie..." Duo's heart froze, and he tore his gaze from the picture to look at the hostess. Immediately his mind started supplying explanations for Heero's absence, ranging from death to the hopeless little wish that Heero was out there somewhere, trying to find him. "Heero left, not too long after the war ended. He went to a tiny little town to live and has been there since the Celebration." Duo looked-up, jolted out of his reverie. Why had Relena said that? Did she know that it was after the Celebration that Duo and Heero had parted? That they had both claimed that to be going to stay with their female companions. No, Heero had claimed that he would, Duo had actually done it.

"Relena....wo...would you know, perhaps, why Heero left?" He could barely get the words out, but he looked trustingly at Relena, forgiving her, bit by bit, for the love that she had for Heero, and the jealousy that she had forced him to experience.

"Hai. He said that, although he did like me as a friend. It was just that. I was a friend. We did talk about it, it seemed to me that he wasn't ready."

"Wasn't ready?" She smiled, remembering a conversation that seemed like it happened just yesterday.

"He was very confused, Duo-kun. He didn't know what he wanted, and he told me as much. He didn't want to drag everyone into his chaotic frame of mind." Why would Heero be confused? It was what he wanted, wasn't it? If it wasn't, why didn't he just tell Duo the truth? After losing himself in quiet thoughts, he realized that it was too much to expect from Heero. The soldier who was just learning to co-exist with the universe. 

When Duo went to sleep that night, it was in a haze of coiled frustrations and wild yearnings sharing the space with thoughts that wouldn't let him be. Solving a puzzle with pieces that had an indefinite shape. When he awoke the next morning, it was with clean determination. Feeling more awake and more alive than he had ever felt since....Since one perfect night, several years ago in which he sat with Heero under the sky watching the fireworks. He hadn't been able to say it then, but maybe now, he might.

"Duo?" The shield dropped over him, the feeling leaving his body and oozing to the floor in a spoiled haze. "Duo? I think that Relena should have a bit of company here, what do you think? Just for a while, of course." Duo turned a bit, and nodded.

*

"Hey shrimp!!! Yeah, that's it. I'm talking to you! Stupid kid." She turned and looked back, no expression on her face. "Hey, can you even talk?" A wry smile spread across her face, and she changed her direction to walk towards them.

"Oh, I can talk...."  


"Niisan!!" Heero's expression went serious as he focused on the little figure running in his direction, a large blue splotch forming on her left eye. 

"What happened, Miyu?" She came to a stop by him, and he squatted, tilting her chin gently to get a better look at the bruise. Miyu had been living with him for a year and they called each other brother and sister. Heero still observed the changes in his character with a slightly amused air, if the war had still been going on, he would be in big trouble. /But it isn't./ He reminded himself, and continued to inspect the bruise. 

"I got in a fight at school."

"You got in a fight?" He echoed, debating in a silent war whether he should track the kids down and slowly, painfully kill them, or if he should play it cool and just brake a few bones.

"Stupid boys think they're so smart. I don' care who they think they are."

"Do not care, Miyu, 'do not'. After a year of school you have to have picked-up at least that." He found himself correcting absentmindedly. "Now tell me what happened." 

The story was explained. The boys were the school bullies, they decided to pick on her because....she was the first one who crossed paths with them and pissed them off at the same time. Heero knew that this wasn't the first time that this had happened. Miyu would often return from school with bruises and such which Heero had treated with as much concern as he was now paying to the massive blackish-blue splotch. As a child, Miyu appeared distant and cool, which many of the children interpreted as arrogance. But if any of them knew her history, they would rethink all of that. The fact was that Heero had told the principal before about the fights, and that had gotten Miyu in even worse trouble. 

"Come on, let's go home." He said as he stood-up and ruffled her hair. She jutted-out her bottom lip in mock-pout and began to smooth it back into place. "But first, I think you deserve some ice-cream." The pout turned into a wide grin.  


Beep

you have one new message

beeeep  


"Yuy-san, your young charge has beaten-up three of our students. We would like you to come and have a talk with us, along with Miyu. Please contact my secretary to arrange a time. Thank-you."  


Brrriiiing

"Hello, this is Mrs. Adams, from Mount Eleanor Elementary school."

"Hello, this is Heero Yuy."

"Ahh, Heero-san, how are..."

"Don't bother. I'm calling to say that I'm withdrawing Miyu's application to this school. I am entitled to my money back. As an aside, Mrs. Adams, your idea of discipline is greatly corrupted. I suggest you look into it before the problem exceeds your control."

"But...Mr. Yuy..."

Click  


"No more school?!"

"What can you possibly learn from people like that? Those "school bullies" are untouchable because they make monthly donations. That is not the education you need!" Heero was pacing in anger. Miyu smiled, a secret pride filling her. 

"So...what will I do?" Despite all the interesting facts she picked-up from all the work she got assigned on a regular basis, Miyu did not enjoy school. She had often wanted to just stay home. It wasn't that she did not like learning, she loved it, but she couldn't stand the regimented, dead-head approach that the schools had towards education. 

"You'll work at the bookstore with me, and I'll teach you everything that I know." A look passed between them. Miyu knew all about Heero's history. 

"Everything?" Heero smiled, a sly grin that Miyu had become very familiar with. It usually meant excitement.

"That's what I said isn't it? And another thing."

"What?"

"You are going to take Martial Arts." Miyu chuckled at the pensive look that her "niisan" was giving as he tapped the cordless phone's antenna against his lip. 

"Yare yare...", but she was smiling.

*

TBC  
  


standard disclaimers apply.


	5. Chapter Four

CIRCLE OF ORBIT

~Jessenia~

  
  


Chapter Four  
  


*

It was hard to decide which was worse: ignoring his feelings and living a bland existence with someone who loved him, but whom he did not love. Or knowing that the person who he loved was out there somewhere, and that there was a chance that, well, there was a chance. And yet not being able to seize that chance and find him.

It had been a year since he had learned the truth about what had happened. He spent all of his free time at the computer tracking down Heero's files, the only problem was that he didn't have much free time to search. Between babying Relena and keeping Hilde happy and himself sane, he didn't have much of anything left over for "old habits", as Hilde put it. 

With a heavy sigh, he tightened the cord on his bathing robe, and stepped out of his room. They were staying in one of Relena's cottages, and there were only two bathrooms. One for guests, which was being re-tiled and therefore deemed unusable for the time being, and the other, in Relena's room. He knocked and waited, before entering. It was habit. Both Relena and Hilde were out shopping, but it had been ingrained in his head that he should be "considerate of other people's needs". With a shake of his head he brushed passed the desk and knocked a letter onto the floor. He stooped to the ground and picked it up, feeling strangely nervous. He flipped it over and there, in Relena's neat hand-writing, was Heero's name. He opened the envelope and carefully removed a thin slip of paper. It was a check for a substantial amount, addressed to Heero Yuy. Duo quickly replaced the check in the envelope and looked around, flipping the envelope to the front and reading the address. 

Committing it to memory. 

A year wasted because he didn't take the initiative. He had been waiting for Hilde or Relena to suddenly stand up and yell "Road trip!!" but that wasn't how it was going to work, he needed to think for himself again. He needed to see Heero.

* 

With a yawn, Heero stretched and rolled onto his side. Sleeping-in was another bad habit that he had acquired over the years. Luckily, he was still a light sleeper and was able to wake at the slightest misplaced sound. He groaned and rolled out of bed, stretching lazily and slipping on his housecoat. Padding quietly towards his prey: a fresh cup of coffee. Coffee in hand and first sip of sanity savored, Heero knocked lightly on Miyu's door. 

Ever since he was young he had been reading, long before he reached the age where it was expected. But Heero's books had been mostly texts that related in some way to being a soldier or studying the necessities of war. A bit before the end of the war, he had enjoyed reading "real books", as Duo would have put it, as in, there was a plot and characters and a fixed ending. But since the end of the war, Heero had found more enjoyment in reading than in anything else. It was one of the few things that allowed him to co-exist with Duo's memory, and take him away from his reality. 

When Heero had arrived in this area, a little island off the coast of what was once North America, he had opened a bookstore, and found that it combined his knowledge of mathematics, in a more tedious and less enjoyable way admittedly, but also, he was able to play with books. And get payed for it.

"I'm up, Heero..." grumbled a rather sleepy voice and he chuckled as he was jolted out of his memories. He began to sip once more at the coffee, and went back to his room to change.

*

The rain was pouring down and Duo couldn't help but feel the purging effect that it was having on him. "Out with the old and back to the even older." He chuckled, as he stepped on the gas peddle and sped down the street.

Hilde hadn't been all that mad, and to his discomfort, not at all surprised that he had said, upon their return from the store, that he was going to go off for a while, and would contact her as soon as he knew what the hell he was doing. He had been desperately confused and had spent his entire shower convincing himself that Heero had moved on. That there was a logical explanation for Heero's departure. That maybe Heero had left because he really didn't love Relena, and not because he felt any fondness towards an old friend and fellow pilot during the war. But a part inside of him came up with alternate solutions which Duo's heart seemed to like much better. And when he had dried off, he had come out of his thoughts to realize that he was sitting at the bottom of the stairs with a large suitcase in hand and not being able to remember when he had packed it. And then the front door had opened and the whole thing had acted itself out, and by the time he realized what he had done, he was already halfway to the airport.

* 

Heero and Miyu returned from their lunch break carrying large ice-cream cones which were already melting in the summer heat. Pausing for a moment in front of a large ornately carved wooden door, Heero fished around in his pant-pocket for his keys while supporting and slurping at the ice-cream in the other. 

Over three years since the end of the war. Three years since he had been abandoned by Duo and left Relena. Two years since he had taken Miyu in, and over three months since she had been pulled out of that school. Three months since she had begun to work at the shop and maintain her education under Heero's tutelage. 

Heero could never get over the oldness of the building in which his store was located. Everything was wood. All the wood was carved, and there were even "twirly stairs" as Miyu had begun to call them. The place was overwhelming, and quiet and there was always the heady smell of fresh new books waiting on the shelves.

Walking through one isle, Heero scanned the shelves and snatched a book. Then returned, Miyu following, to perch on a chair behind the large mahogany desk. Miyu sitting on the other side, and the book between them, and thus, they settled to spend the rest of the day in contemplation of various pieces of literature, on various subjects. This was the way Miyu was educated.

*

Duo settled back in his chair, looking out the window with an expression of belated betrayal. He had spent over a month visiting the other pilots, something he had never been able to do while he had been with Hilde. He had spent two weeks purchasing things which he might need, preparing mentally for whatever lay before him, and of course there was traveling time. And now, here he was, hiding in an apartment and turning over the facts in his head. 

The whole town knew Heero Yuy. He used to be a Gundam pilot, and was now working in the only bookstore in town. Of course, after a bit of research, Duo had found that Heero's was not the only bookstore, it was just the only one that was worth visiting. He had gone into the store once, worked up enough courage and Heero hadn't even been there. He had purchased a book and then fled, but not before savoring the beauty of the place. At least he knew that Heero had good taste.

All the ladies whom he talked to found Heero rather attractive, but had labeled him "the quiet type." Duo was not surprised. Much to Duo's dismay, however, he had also found out that Heero was living with a girl named Miyu, luckily that information had been followed by the important fact that she was about seven years old, black hair, and had been taken-out of school because the principal had been unjust. The town was disappointed that Heero hadn't done something more to prove the inequitable nature of the place. But just the same, the news had spread and the school had closed down just a few weeks ago.

A bookstore, and an adopted child. Nothing made sense to Duo's muddled mind. Was that a hopeful sign? That Heero had taken in a young child and so obviously become protective of her, and had been working in a bookstore? Was that really where the story ended or was he missing something? 

And so, Duo sat.

*

Heero groaned and rolled out of bed, fulfilling, once again, the tradition that must be upheld for six out of seven days of the week. He sipped at his coffee, called Miyu and went to get dressed. They sat and ate breakfast, discussing various things about self-defense and the attack courses which Miyu had recently been taking and Heero had studied at some point during his life, whether as training for the war or as an activity to keep him occupied afterwards. When they had finished eating, they snatched their sunglasses, locked-up and went down the stairs.  
  


The elevator opened.

Out stepped a tall man, about Heero's age, with a rather long braided mass of hair. Violet eyes looked around uncertainly and he walked up to the door where the two people had just exited from. He raised a hand, and knocked. There was no answer. The figure swore under his breath.

He had misjudged his timing.

*

Duo was walking up the sidewalk, slurping a bottle of water. He regretted his choice of jeans, but was smugly satisfied with the heat, and was happy to accept the jeans because he was in a tank-top. 

As he rounded a corner, he noticed a slim figure walking down the street. The eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, but Duo knew that confident walk. His eyes roamed up and down the figure, noting the way Heero's clothes complimented and hinted at the boy's physique. The brown hair was the same, only somehow, Duo felt that it looked softer, though whether it was soft or if it was just Duo's intense urge to run his fingers through it, he wasn't certain. What he did know was that he had never seen Heero look so relaxed and comfortable....and so damn sexy..... 

As they approached each other, a movement caught his eye. "NIISAN!!!" Duo slowed and watched as a smallish girl came running up to Heero, and held his breath as Heero stopped and waved. The girl came to a stop just before colliding into Heero. "Niisan!! You'll never guess what I learned in self-defense today!!" Heero tilted his head, and Duo took the opportunity to cross the street.

"The side-kick, to add to you repertoire." Miyu's smile disappeared and she pretended to be upset.

"You're no fun." Duo shook his head, and disappeared down the alley.  
  
*

TBC  
  


standard disclaimers apply.


	6. Chapter Five

CIRCLE OF ORBIT

~Jessenia~

  
  


Chapter Five  
  
*

Duo walked up to the store and looked in the window. There was Heero, leaning over a book, brown hair falling in a rakish manner over his cobalt eyes which had softened dramatically since Duo had last seen him. He wore a white loose tank-top untucked, and khaki army pants. Duo smiled, Heero had liked the extra pockets, he remembered. 

He watched as the boy began to speak about something, memories of that bedroom voice hitting him like a wave, and he closed his eyes. He had been missing that voice, those eyes, that person. He knew that he had always loved Heero, but he had forgotten the impact which the quiet boy had on him. He couldn't do it. He would drown in those eyes, or tackle the boy before he even got-out the important part. He sighed and looked again at the one person who had been occupying his dreams since, he couldn't remember. 

It had to be now. If not now, then he would run away again and it would become a habit. He looked back at the image, framed by the window.

Across from Heero sat a girl, strong looking, with black hair. She was leaning over the book and looking confused. Duo's smile grew, that must be the girl Heero had been taking care of. He seemed to be explaining something to her, suddenly he was struck with a gaze of dark-green eyes, and he moved out of view in a jolt. 

"Shit. I can't even spy on people properly anymore." he chuckled to himself. There was a moment in which Duo wondered what he should do. Bells shook and the door to the shop began to open. Duo ducked into an alleyway.

"Niisan!! Can we get ice-cream again?"

"Iie. No more sugar for you and if you keep forgetting to buy your lunch then you know the consequences. If I can't teach you I'm sending you back to the crow-woman..."

"AACK!! Wait a minute... You can't do that, she closed the school."

"And don't you forget it."

"Forget what?"

"Justice...I ought to introduce you to a friend of mine."

"Who? WHO? Was he a rebel soldier, too?"

"Who taught you that phrase? 

"Sakura-san. She says that you were a rebel-fighter and it was because of people like you that our government isn't bad now. So who is he?" She tugged at the hem of the tank-top.

"Uhm, yes, he was a soldier....why were you talking to Sakura about me?" Heero asked. Duo edged forward a bit because the two people were moving down the street.

"She talks about you all the time! She says ....oops...."

"Nanda?"

"I'm not supposed to say....It's a secret."

"Aa."

*

Duo walked hesitantly and looked at the sign on the door  


Back in 5

ja.  


Lunch break, then. As Duo found his way to a nearby café he began to review how he had been acting since he decided to leave and see Heero. He had spent more time avoiding the boy than he had actually speaking to him. He corrected himself, he had been so successful avoiding Heero, that he hadn't even said a word. At least now he knew what he wanted, well...he had always known, now he knew that whatever he had been doing to keep away from this boy had been a waste of time. Completely 100%, waste of time. 

He finished his lunch, and with a final sip of water, he resolved himself. He would simply walk into the store and insist on talking to the boy.

*************

They had been studying for half an hour, interrupted only a few times with customers, and just when they had become grossly absorbed with the concepts held in the text, the bells rang. Neither looked up.

Duo stood by the door, Heero was explaining something. /Now is the perfect time to go. They are obviously busy, so you should come back another time./ But somehow he couldn't move. Even if he had really wanted to. And then all of a sudden he was pinned with cobalt eyes, and he saw Heero's face freeze. 

Duo noted that he had forgotten to take his sunglasses off, and, congratulating himself, he adjusted them slightly, then walked to an isle of books and after losing himself behind the tall shelves, keeping the glasses on for protection, he began to skim the titles in an attempt to calm his racing heart. He found that he could hear very acutely, which was surprising because his heart was beating so loudly.

"Questions one to twenty, in the science text book."

"But, niisan! We were just getting to the good part!"

"Miyu."

"Hai, hai!" Duo could hear a chair grate against the floor, and then soft footfalls. Someone was coming. Heero was coming. He walked quickly to the end of the isle, and just as Heero entered it, he went to the next one. It did no good. He felt himself standing and staring at a title and unable to spell it out. Then he heard the soft voice. He'd missed that voice. "May I help you?" 

/Oh yeah...But I doubt you would want to help me here.../

"Hai. I'm looking for someone." And he took the glasses off, and was staring straight into those eyes. And then they were all that existed, those deep pools of cobalt, and he was being sucked in and he knew that if he didn't act fast he was going to drown, and he wasn't ready for that...not yet. Not until he knew how Heero would react to this unexpected visit.

".....Duo...." It was a softly surprised whisper, and Duo wanted to throw his arms around Heero and never let go. "Duo..." He smiled and was about to go into his oh-so-familiar jester act, when the chimes went on the door and a woman's voice called Heero's name-out. Duo was about to sink into the ground. Was he too late? Who was that woman? What was happening? Why wasn't Heero speaking? Then Heero blinked and turned in the direction of the door, still looking slightly stunned. Duo could hear the woman talking to the little girl, Miyu. Heero looked at Duo sternly and said "Don't go anywhere." And the way he said it, Duo wouldn't have moved even if the building was about to explode. He was excited and confused and happy and hopelessly in love and it was wreaking havoc on his hormones.

"Sakura." He heard Heero talking and tried to listen.

"HI! Did you forget? I was going to take Miyu to the movies!!" 

"I remember." Ahh, the familiar clipped responses. He hadn't changed too much.

"Heero?" The woman questioned. "Are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Sakura, could I ask a favor of you?" /I take it back.../ Duo thought, /He has changed./

"Anything." Duo didn't like the way she said that. 

"Can Miyu stay at your place tonight? She has her key so she can pick-up her stuff. I have some work to do so..." Duo felt his spirits lift, a little.

"Wakatta. Miyu can stay as long as she likes."

"Do you mind?" This, Duo felt, was directed to the girl.

"No. Just don't have too much fun without me."

"I'm doing work, baka." Their banter seemed to be like a brother and sister. He liked to think that Heero had changed enough to treat someone like a sister, because, it would be a smaller step to treat someone else, as something else....

"Hn. See you." There was a rustling, and Duo figured that they were hugging.

"See you tomorrow." The doors shut, and Heero appeared around the corner of the book shelf, a look of uncertainty on his face as if he still didn't believe in anything that was happening. "What are you doing here?" It was only slightly accusatory, and Duo took it as a good sign, considering he was the only one who had betrayed the other by running off with and wasting a good portion of time on a fling, which wasn't even that much. 

"I came to see you." He heard a soft growl and he found himself remembering every time he had heard his friend make that impatient noise.

"I can see that. Why are you here, now?" Duo, didn't know the answer to that one. He shrugged and turned back to the book shelf, pretending to scan the shelves.

"Uhm. Well, I was over at Relena's and she said that you hadn't been there for a while, and I got curious and so I tracked you down and..." He kept his head bent.

"Baka. Shut up." It was all so familiar and he was so happy and relieved that he lost all feeling in the lower half of his body....except in one place, which he really wished had no feeling because he was going to be very embarrassed in a moment, if it didn't calm down.

"I missed you." He whispered.  
  
*

TBC  
  


standard disclaimers apply.


End file.
